Chronic kidney disease progression in elderly Iranian patients: a cohort study

In the past few decades, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) - a disease with progressive decline in renal function - has become an important problem of global public health, not only in developed countries, but also in developing countries with less economic power.

In this study, CKD progression to death or End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in elderly Iranian patients was compared with younger counterparts.

This retrospective cohort study was conducted on CKD patients with estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min, in a nephrology clinic in Tehran from December of 2006 until December of 2012. eGFR trend, death and need to renal replacement therapy (RRT) were evaluated as outcomes and compared between patients younger and older than 60 years. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 13.

Five-hundred and two patients were enrolled and followed up for an average of 37.6 months. Two thirds of the patients were older than 60 years. The incidence density of ESRD in patients younger and older than 60 years were 6.3 and 3.6 for 100 persons per year, respectively. Younger ones showed more rapid decline in their eGFR, while older patients had more stable renal function.

It seems necessary to conduct more researches in order to redefine CKD and identify its prognostic markers in elderly population.